Ashley Lynn Hess, Drug Conspiracy, West Virginia 2020

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A Berkeley County woman has been sentenced to 36 months of incarceration for her role in a drug conspiracy that spanned several states, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.

Ashley Lynn Hess, 32, of Inwood, West Virginia, pled guilty in November 2020 to one count of “Distribution of a Mixture and Substance Containing Phencyclidine (PCP)” and one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Cocaine Hydrochloride.” Hess admitted to selling PCP and cocaine hydrochloride or “Coke” in September 2019 in Berkeley County.

This case is the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep. This initiative seeks to reduce the supply of synthetic opioids in “hot spot” areas previously identified by the Attorney General of the United States, thereby reducing drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths, and identify wholesale distribution networks and sources of supply operating nationally and internationally.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

The FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided over the sentencing hearing.

The exact crime date is September 2019, and the exact sentencing date is not provided in the press release. The defendant, Ashley Lynn Hess, has been sentenced to 36 months of incarceration.

The defendant’s role in the drug conspiracy involved the sale of PCP and cocaine hydrochloride in Berkeley County, West Virginia.

The case is a result of a multi-agency effort to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking operations in the region.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/berkeley-county-woman-sentenced-role-drug-conspiracy-0